Text 36] Prthu Mahārāja's Meeting with the Four Kumāras
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in this verse, liberation,  mokṣa , is stressed. The other three items are material and therefore subject to destruction. Even if somehow we accumulate a great bank balance in this life and possess many material things, everything will be finished with death. In  Bhagavad-gītā  it is said that death is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who ultimately takes away everything acquired by the materialistic person. Foolishly we do not care for this. Foolishly we are not afraid of death, nor do we consider that death will take away everything acquired by the process of  dharma ,  artha  and  kāma . By  dharma , or pious activities, we may be elevated to the heavenly planets, but this does not mean freedom from the clutches of birth, death, old age and disease. The purport is that we can sacrifice our interests in  traivargya , religious principles, economic development and sense gratification, but we cannot sacrifice the cause of liberation. Regarding liberation, it is stated in  Bhagavad-gītā :  tyaktvā deham punar janma naiti  (Bg. 4.9). Liberation means that after giving up this body one does not have to accept another material body. But to the impersonalists liberation means merging into the existence of impersonal Brahman. But factually this is not  mokṣa  because one has to again fall down into this material world from that impersonal position. One should therefore seek the shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and engage in His devotional service. That is real liberation. The conclusion is that we should not stress pious activities, economic development and sense gratification but should concern ourselves with approaching Lord Viṣṇu in His spiritual planets, of which the topmost is Goloka Vṛndāvana where Lord Kṛṣṇa lives. Therefore this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is the greatest gift for persons who are actually desiring liberation.
TEXT 36
परेऽवरे च ये भावा गुणव्यतिकरादनु । न तेषां विद्यते क्षेममोशविध्वंसिताशिषाम् ॥३६॥
pare 'vare ca ye bhāvā guṇa-vyatikarād anu na teṣām vidyate kṣemam īśa-vidhvaṁsitāśiṣām
pare —in the higher status of life;  avare —in the lower status of life;  ca —and;  ye —all those;  bhāvāḥ —conceptions;  guṇa —material qualities;  vyatikarāt —by interaction;  anu —following;  na —never;  teṣām —of them;  vidyate —exist;  kṣemam —correction;  īśa —the Supreme Lord;  vidhvaṁsita —destroyed;  āśiṣām —of the blessings.